Jamming with a live band

Hi. I have a little less than two years experience with eurorack, so far. Still learning. Still consider myself a newbie. Just collecting modules and making wild sounds at home in my basement. But, I would really like to be able to jam with other musicians.

So, I am curious to learn how other eurorack players approach playing with a band or just jamming with other musicians. Of course, you can just plug in a keyboard. But my background is more guitar, bass, percussion. I'm not much of a keyboard player, but I can get down with a sequencer, for example. Generative sequences, pulsating drones, rhythmic modulation, random sequencing, etc... all being driven by a master clock, it all still fits together... as long as you are not trying to be in time with other players.

So, for those with experience, how do you make it work within a live band setting (i.e. drums, bass, guitar)? I've heard of bands that work with a click track. Seems like that could be rather challenging. Tap tempo could be used to adjust the modular's clock tempo relative to what the drummer and other players are doing. But I can imagine that becoming tedious and troublesome, too.

Of course, I will admit that I haven't been brave enough to try any of these ideas, yet. I am still at the 'advice-seeking' stage. But, before I stick my neck out, I would love to hear how others have dealt with this. Is it possible to use a sequencer and still keep the band's timing toghether? Is it a matter of playing with talented musicians who know how to listen and follow the synth player instead of the drummer? What have others tried? Things that either did or didn't work? Please share your experiences. Thx!

I've generally stuck to one of two strategies at any given time:

1. We agree I set the tempo. They can be any tempo at any time. I have to turn a knob or plan a change in advance. Therefore, they have the flexibility and I do not. So, when I start, they go from there. In a sense, the song becomes the click track.
2. Free improv: No one bothers with tempo too much and we just make cool sounds.

If you time it right, you can have both. One thing I like about the Polyend Tracker as a sequencer using MIDI to CV conversion (or a Nerdseq will do it) is you can program this behavior to happen at specific times and even program sequences that are non-timed.

I think the issue with a tempo-tap based system is you have to always have some rhythmic element that sends steady clock to stuff. You can maybe plan out sections with this, or even an envelope follower depending on what you're doing.

The only option for you I can think of is to think less in terms of melody and more in terms of percussion or just "triggering events". If you set the modular up to respond to drum triggers from you, or maybe some sort of Launchpad/other pad based finger drumming setup, then you'll be fine and you just have to worry about tuning and setting up the patching in advance (relatively speaking) so you can have at least one hand free to trigger stuff.

You could also try the Korg SQ-64, which has a play mode called "isomorphic" where the 64 pads roughly emulate the layout of a bass. The Korg SQ-64 has had a mixed reputation, but it is powerful on paper and may work for you here so you can apply your guitar/bass skills in this context.

EDITED Feb 25th, 04:20

Those two approaches make sense. I imagine the free improve approach could be somewhat dependent on the types of sounds/effects being coaxed out of the modular. If the primary rhythmic component of the synth sound is just something like some mellow filter modulation, for example, it might be harder for the others to lock into it, compared to a more heavily sequenced groove. Or, if the synth part is more like an intro that fades as the band comes in, tempo sync might not even be a concern. Same if there are parts where the rest of the band drops out in places where the modular comes in.

I've used stompboxes that have tap tempo with limited success when playing bass or guitar. My approach was to give the tap tempo button a few taps every several measures or so, to try to keep the modulation in sync as the drummer's tempo fluctuated. Definitely requires some practice. I can imagine tapping a button with your finger might be a bit easier to coordinate than repeatedly tapping with your foot while playing guitar.

Ideally, it seems like the easiest, most effective situation would be if everyone in the band is capable of playing along to the same (click) master clock as the modular. But, I'd still be interested to hear some others' ways of doing it.

Depending on the kind of free improv you do, no rhythmic component may be necessary. Think "Topography of the Lungs" (or even Japanese noise, which was often synth based). I do this about once a month in town, and as long as you don't let any LFOs or function generators cycle unchecked when you don't want them to, you won't need to be too worried.

I hadn't heard TOTL before. Thanks! I do like that kind of thing but, no disrespect, once a month is probably about right for me too, mate!

Watching vids of Nerve w Jojo Mayer, my guess is that they can simply read each other's minds. It looks like Jojo is leading the tempo but the synth player still gets all the arps, bleeps and bloops in just the right spots.

Jojo Mayer also seems to be working with people who are practiced keyboard/piano players. In that case, what they're doing wouldn't be all that difficult to assemble (at least in terms of theory - obviously they still have to play it). You are the tempo, and you respond as needed, same issues as any other band.

Right... "We're all playing together now, children." Just sayin' it does sound straightforward but, in practice, not so much for some. Requires more listening, as opposed to playing. I know I can struggle with that sometimes.

These two guys (El Ten Eleven) definitely seem to have some sort of click or guide track in their earpieces. You can see how they check in with eachother before starting the song.

Of course, neither of them is playing a modular. They are each sampling and looping while playing their respective instruments. I would also venture to say that neither of them is leading the tempo. They both seem to be following the guide track. Yeah... they're practiced.

I used to be part of the "house band" at an open mic before Covid (the band was a drummer and me. Occasionally, the sound man would sit in on guitar). We would back up anyone who wanted back up. I was using the Sonuus G2M to trigger the synth with my bass guitar so I could play synth bass when appropriate. In between acts I would run a sequence and we'd jam until the next act was ready.
It's a good idea to have some kind of system for keeping your oscillators in tune if you're playing with other instruments. I have a TipTop Z3000 in my large rack () so it's easy enough just to dial up A440 and tune all the other oscillators to it. With my smaller rack () it wasn't as straght forward. I would use a tuner on my bass guitar and tune the synth to it.
Having the right musicians is important because they have to understand that when the sequence is running, it is king. You always have to listen to what the sequence is doing and play with it. Sometimes it's a set pattern, sometimes it's generative. When it's generative, you really have to be on your toes because you don't know where it's going.
I really liked playing with drummers. I was thinking about doing an act with a drummer and a sax player but it never got off the ground.